Wealthy foreigners fleeing the UK to escape the government’s crackdown on non-doms were behind two of every three super-prime property sales last year, leading prices at the top-end of London’s housing market to extend declines that now stretch over a decade.
According to a fresh analysis of London property transactions above £15m, 65 per cent of the vendors who sold homes in 2025 were non-doms offloading their principal UK residence as they relocated to low-tax jurisdictions like Dubai, Italy and Switzerland.
In its maiden Budget, the government chose to plough ahead with its pre-election promise to abolish the non-dom regime, a centuries-old tax status that allowed wealthy foreign nationals to pay UK tax only on their asset gains and income generated in Britain.
The move, which came into force last April, is attributed with triggering a wave of current and former non-doms leaving the UK, including former Goldman Sachs International chief Richard Gnodde, Aston Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris and the steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.
“During 2025, approximately 65 per cent of [our] new instructions were coming from non-dom owners seeking to exit the market,” said Gary Hersham, founder of Beauchamp Estates.
“Nevertheless, a diverse pool of domestic and international buyers proceeded with transactions, demonstrating continued confidence in the capital’s long-term appeal.”
Top end prices have slumped 40 per cent
The glut of supply adds to the woes in London’s super-prime property market. Prices in the upper echelons of the capital’s housing stock have fallen roughly 40 per cent since their 2014 peak once adjusted for inflation, after a succession of policy decisions. The UK’s departure from the European Union, its high personal tax rate and the non-dom crackdown have all served to weigh on prices in the past decade, after unprecedented international interest carried the market to a succession of highs in the early 2010s.
The excess supply forced most vendors to take a heftier markdown on their asking price compared to previous years. The average London home worth above £15m sold for 7.6 per cent less than its asking price, versus 7.1 per cent in 2024 and 5.6 per cent in 2023.
Star Wars creator George Lucas was behind one of the most expensive transactions of 2025, buying a £40m villa in St John’s Wood. The filmmaker was one of nine buyers involved in transactions above the £15m threshold in north west London, and managed to negotiate a £9m discount on the original asking price.
Hersham added: “The buyer profile in the prime and super-prime sectors will continue to be a younger demographic, fuelled by generational wealth and entrepreneurial success in technology, IT, and entertainment.
“American participation is likely to moderate slightly from 2025 levels, while interest from Near and Far Eastern buyers should remain stable, supplemented by continued growing activity from the Middle East.”